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Croft, Martin, and Nathalie Kilby. "Mortal Kombat Viral Is Tool For Bullying, Claims Charity." Marketing Week 16 Nov 2006: 3.

 

This article explains how an anti-bullying charity group is complaining about a video game campaign for Mortal Kombat. In this campaign people are directed to a website where they can upload images of their friends to be superimposed on the fighting video game characters. These superimposed Mortal Kombat characters are then sent to that person in the form of a “Death Diss” whereby the character is brutally murdered. The charity Bullying Online worries that real life bullies will upload images of their enemies to this site and it will only cause issues between the two parties in question. It states that the site has already seen examples of people using this viral marketing tool as a malicious way to insult somebody. A complaint about this advertisement campaign was made to the Advertising Standards Authority, the leading groups in controlling advertising. It is unknown if this campaign will cause the dreaded actions Bullying Online is worrying about.

This article relates to the thesis because violent media is being used in a manner that could potentially cause a movement to action by the receiving end of this viral marketing campaign. There are great worries by Bullying Online that such an advertising campaign might enrage somebody so much that they might react very violently against the opposing person. Just as The Warriors caused a few kids to act violently due to the violent media being viewed, there is a concern that this viral marketing campaign could cause the same response.

"Lawsuit claims "Grand Theft Auto" Trained Teen To Kill." 60 Minutes. Bradley. CBS, 06 Mar 2005.

 

This transcript from the television show 60 Minutes discusses the video game Grand Theft Auto and the lawsuit filed against it for its overt violence and supposed “instruction on how to kill”. An 18-year-old named Devin Moore played Grand Theft Auto day and night for months prior to gunning down three Fayette, Alabama cops. The interview that takes place is between the host Ed Bradley and his guest Jack Thompson who is the attorney suing Moore. The transcript outlines the activities that lead up to the deaths of the three officers. Moore was brought in under suspicion of stealing a car. In an interview with Moore, he explained how he snapped and grabbed the cop's gun and shot him in the head. Then when another cop rushed in he was also shot in the head and then shot the dispatcher in the head on the way out. The article later cites a psychological study done on why children interact the way they do with violence. It explains how the child brain has not fully matured and thus cannot make the rational decisions such as 'killing is a bad idea'. The doctor explains that not every kid who plays this game will go on rampage though, because there are a number of factors that would lead to such actions. Moore was from a bad upbringing, moving between different foster homes, so he had many additional factors leading to his ultimate actions.

This transcript directly relates to the thesis regarding violent media affecting its viewers and causing them act violently. This claim is made, but cannot fully be substantiated because there are tons of other kids who are playing this game and not acting out. In this one instance, it is not the game that caused him to act out; he was clearly a deranged individual who would have acted this way whether he had played the game or not. Just as The Warriors caused a public dispute regarding whether it was the cause of fatalities, the video game Grand Theft Auto also has.

Keegan, Paul. "Computer Games like Quake and Doom probably won't turn your son into a killer. But what is happening to kids raised on the most violent, interactive mass-media entertainment ever devised?." Mother Jones Nov 1999 04 Apr 2008 .

 

This article revolves around a visit to E3, an annual gaming tradeshow. Its focus is to discuss the different genres of video games, but in particular the violent ones. It then attempts to analyze why these violent games become so popular. Throughout, there is always a hesitant tone as the Columbine shootings had occurred only three weeks prior to this conference. There is discussion of the ESRB rating system and how it is hardly enforced by parents or rental stores. The article proceeds to look at Myst, an extremely popular game that involves no violence whatsoever. Its appeal was solely through beautifully rendered images and fog that the character walks through on its mysterious journey. It is however noted that something seemed to be missing from this experience. That is where real-time 3D comes into play. It is a new generation of cutting edge computer games that render the scenery on the fly, completely immersing the player in the gameplay. This type of play has an appeal due to the adrenaline rush and excitement it causes that more static, slow paced games like Myst cannot match. These types of games undoubtedly engage the player deeply into their digital surroundings. It suggests that playing violent video games for extended periods of time numbs the player to the violence and they create a level of tolerance for violence.

This article relates to the topic by examining super violent video games, real-time 3D games in particular and their effect on players. It is pretty evident that despite their incredible ability to immerse the player in the gameplay, the ones playing are able to keep the game and real life separate. The only times when this is untrue when other circumstances are involved, in the case of Columbine, mental instability in two kids who happened to enjoy these types of games were some other circumstances. Like viewers of The Warriors, most will not become overwhelmed by the violence and will respond absolutely normally. Those who act out in response to the film are doing so because they have issues and not solely because of the violence being seen.

The Politics of Play is a collaborative workshop inviting artists, sociologists, designers, game designers, urban planners... PEOPLE to come together in an expedition. The purpose of this journey is to foster collaborative networks in the city through the medium of play.
The workshop will take the form of an exchange and collective learning experience divided into 3 parts; research, experimentation and implementation.

Play can offer a common ground for people to meet and exchange.
Almost everyone can play a game. The term "playing around" infers impermanence or a format for a deferred stance on an issue which offers up a way to let down ones guard. Often times this provides a sense of freedom that cannot be found in a sanctioned panel discussion, meeting or class room. Far more than humor, there is the play of ideas, the playfulness of free experimentation, the playfulness of free association and the play of paradigm shifting that are as common to scientific experiment as to pranks.

The Politics of Play is a workshop conceived by Amy Franceschini and Myriel Milicevic. The workshop serves as a plaform for research; sociological, urban studies, and game theory. The workshop was premiered at Mal au Pixel in Paris in April 2006.

David Nieborg explores the history of mod culture in computer games in this essay. Most of his analysis is based on Jenkins' theories of fandom and participatory fan culture. There is a short section on how manchinima fits into the larger culture of modifing first person shooter games.

Not sure about this one yet, just another article analizing the nature of interative narrative expereince